The boat ran into difficulties 1,000km east of Cape Cod in Massachusetts on Thursday while returning from the prestigious Antigua Sailing Week regatta and contact was lost with the crew in the early hours of Friday as they were diverting to the Azores.

US and Canadian aircraft and merchant vessels looked for them throughout Friday and Saturday but have now called off the search.

A US Coastguard spokesman said: "We searched with multiple assets over 4,000 square miles for pings from the vessel's personal locator beacons.

"After receiving no more transmissions we believe that we would have found them by now if we were going to find them.

"These beacons are small devices and the ones being used have a very short battery life."

One of the commercial vessels taking part in the search, the 1,000ft container MAERSK KURE ship, discovered debris thought to be the overturned hull of the Cheeki Rafiki but did not stop to inspect it because nobody was seen on board.

Weather conditions in the area where the men went missing were described as treacherous, with winds in excess of 50 knots, waves of 15 to 20 feet and visibility reduced to under a mile.

'Experienced yachtsmen'

Mr Bridge was being paid by Stormforce for his role on the yacht, a spokeswoman for the firm said.

But Mr Goslin, Mr Warren and Mr Male were also described as "very experienced offshore yachtsmen".

Stormforce director Doug Innes said that the yacht had first started taking on water on Thursday but the skipper was in contact and the crew were keeping the situation stable. He said that it was possible that the crew took to a life raft after contact was lost on Friday.

"Search and Rescue authorities were mobilised and a mixture of Canadian and US aircraft along with merchant vessels searched throughout Friday and Saturday," Mr Innes said.

"Although the search efforts co-ordinated by Boston were exceptional we are devastated that the search has now been called off so soon.

"Our thoughts are with the four yachtsmen and their families and we hope and pray for them all."

Mr Bridge's aunt, Georgina Bridge, said her nephew was the captain on the yacht.

She told Sky News: "Obviously the family are really concerned that the search has been suspended and we are really hoping that it will be resumed.

"We are holding out great hope that Andrew and the guys on board Cheeki Rafiki will be found.

"We are hopeful that they were able to launch a life raft and that they are still on board that, so we would just really like the search to be resumed."

Ms Bridge explained that all four men were "very experienced sailors", adding: "Andrew has been sailing since he was a small child, he has a real passion for sailing and has taken part in many races.

"He is a very experienced captain and has sailed Cheeki Rakifi a great deal. He has taken part in Fastnet and other very challenging races.

"Sailing is his passion and we just want him home."

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are aware of a missing yacht off the East Coast of the USA with four British nationals on board.

"We are in continual contact with the US Coastguard and are providing consular assistance to the families."